a blog about everything related to youth raising French angora rabbits

Black Diamond Kits

Sage's Kits, Nine Weeks Old

Monday, April 13, 2015

Rabbit Color Genetics: The A Gene

By
popular demand, we are now going to dedicate a few of our blog posts
to French angora color genetics. There are many genes that affect a
rabbit's color. They are called the A,
B, C,
D, and E
genes. Very original names, if I say so myself. Today I will
discuss the A gene.

The A
series contains three genes
(listed in descending order of dominance):

A represents
agouti. The color of
the chestnut agouti is the easiest to explain. Aside, of course,
from the length of the wool, a chestnut agouti looks exactly the same
in color as a jackrabbit or cottontail. Agoutis have lacing on the
ears, bands in the wool, and rings around the eyes. It is desirable
to breed an agouti with a rabbit that carries the chinchilla dark
(cchd) gene. However,
it is quite undesirable to breed an agouti with a rabbit that carries
the chinchilla light (cchl)
gene. Such a breeding may result in unshowable colors. The agouti
gene is also necessary for making creams, fawns, and reds.

at represents
the tan gene. It is
not showable in French angora, so we won't discuss it other than to
say that it is recessive to agouti, but dominant to self (a).

a represents
the self gene. A self
rabbit has no bands in the wool. The wool color is fainter at the
skin but increases in color the closer you get to the end of the
hair.

Yes, I should have
taken pictures. But we can't find the camera right now.

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If you are interested in a rabbit or if you have questions, drop us a line at blackdiamondbunnies@gmail.com.

Please, please, please email us with questions, or post them on the blog. We really want to be sure our rabbits are going to good homes with responsible owners ready to care for them. While all of our customers thus far have been very nice people who we have every confidence are providing the best of care for their rabbits, we have had some concerns with individuals who have expressed interest in our rabbits. If we are not completely comfortable with an individual, we will not sell you a rabbit. That's just the way it is. One excellent way for us to become comfortable with you and with your level of preparation is for you to ask questions. What we really do not want to see is someone who emails and says, "I'm ready for my rabbit now. When can I come by?"

If you wish to speak with us in person, we'll be happy to give you a call, or provide our phone number through an email. We're sorry, but because this is the Internet, and because we have young women involved, we can't post our phone number or physical address online. We live about 20 minutes north of the 395/Interstate 80 junction in Reno.

1970's Soviet Propaganda Poster, Rabbit Style

This photo graced the top of the blog for several months. Why do I call it a Soviet propaganda poster? Because it looks just like one. (I got my degree in Russian in 1987. I got to see a whole lot of Soviet propaganda posters in the course of my studies.) Anyway, it's classic Soviet propaganda. There is almost always a lighter individual, centered and higher than the darker individuals who are flanking and lower. The lighter individual looks up and to the side, into the light. The sun's rays smile down, indicating a bright future. We could never have gotten this pose in a million years if we'd been trying.